A little preparation can make your immigration consultation much more productive.
An immigration consultation is an opportunity to look at your circumstances, understand your options and identify issues that may affect your next steps. Coming prepared helps your consultant spend less time gathering basic information and more time discussing the questions that matter to you.
Use this checklist to organize the key information you may want to have available before your consultation.
Download the Consultation Preparation Checklist (PDF, 3 pages)
Clarify Your Immigration Goal
Start with the most important question: What are you trying to accomplish?
Your goal might be to:
- study or work in Canada;
- extend or change your temporary status;
- transition from temporary status to permanent residence;
- explore Express Entry or a Provincial Nominee Program;
- sponsor a family member;
- address a refusal;
- restore your status;
- explore humanitarian options;
- understand employer or LMIA options; or
- develop a longer-term Canadian immigration strategy.
You do not need to know which immigration program is right for you. That may be one of the reasons you are seeking professional advice.
What is useful is being able to explain where you are now and where you would like to go.
Know Your Current Status
If you are currently in Canada, know:
- your current immigration status;
- when your status expires;
- whether you have submitted an application to extend or change that status;
- whether you are currently authorized to work or study; and
- whether any family members have status in Canada with you.
Dates can be important. Have relevant permits or immigration documents available during your consultation if they may affect the discussion.
Review Your Immigration History
Be prepared to discuss previous Canadian immigration applications, including:
- visitor visas;
- study permits;
- work permits;
- extensions;
- permanent residence applications;
- sponsorship applications;
- provincial nominations; and
- previous refusals.
If you have received a refusal, Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL) or other important immigration correspondence, make sure the relevant documents have been submitted for review when requested by the office.
Do not leave out a previous refusal because you think it is unrelated. Your immigration history can affect the strategy for a future application.
Organize Your Background Information
Depending on the reason for your consultation, it may be useful to know your:
- education and credentials;
- employment history;
- Canadian and foreign work experience;
- language test results, if any;
- Canadian education or work experience;
- marital/family situation;
- province where you live or intend to live; and
- significant Canadian connections.
You do not need to prepare a complete immigration application before your consultation. The objective is simply to have enough information available to discuss your circumstances accurately.
Note Important Dates
Immigration decisions are often time-sensitive.
Before your consultation, note any important dates such as:
- status or permit expiry;
- passport expiry;
- graduation or program completion;
- employment start/end dates;
- application deadlines;
- invitation or nomination deadlines;
- refusal dates; or
- dates stated in correspondence from immigration authorities.
If something is urgent, mention that at the beginning of your consultation.
Consider Your Longer-Term Goals
Sometimes the most obvious application is not the only issue to consider.
For example, a decision about studying, working, changing employers, changing provinces or extending temporary status may affect longer-term immigration options.
Consider what you want your situation to look like not only in the next few months, but also over the next several years.
At Tabula Rasa, we encourage clients to think about immigration as a strategy rather than a series of disconnected applications.
Write Down Your Priority Questions
Consultations move quickly.
Before your appointment, write down the three to five questions you most want answered.
For example:
- What immigration options should I be considering?
- What are the main risks or weaknesses in my situation?
- What should I prioritize first?
- Could my current decision affect permanent residence later?
- Are there alternatives if my preferred pathway is not available?
- What should I avoid doing?
- What documents or evidence may become important?
You may think of additional questions during the consultation, but having your priorities written down helps ensure the most important issues are addressed.
Be Open About Potential Concerns
Immigration advice is only as useful as the information on which it is based.
Tell your consultant about circumstances that may be relevant, including previous refusals, periods without status, criminal charges or convictions, previous immigration problems, inconsistencies in applications, medical concerns that may affect immigration processing, or other significant issues.
A consultation is the time to identify potential problems—not hide them.
What Should You Have With You?
You do not necessarily need to send documents in advance.
Depending on your consultation, consider having access to:
- passport biographical page;
- current Canadian permit/status document;
- résumé;
- education information;
- language results;
- refusal letter(s);
- Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL), if applicable;
- IRCC or other immigration correspondence;
- provincial nomination/invitation documents;
- supporting documents relevant to the issue being reviewed; and
- any other document directly related to the issue you want to discuss.
Where a consultation requires advance document review, clients should ensure the documents requested by the office have been submitted before the consultation.
Immigration Consultation Preparation Checklist
Before your appointment, confirm that you can answer:
- What is my main immigration goal?
- What is my current immigration status?
- When does my current status or permit expire?
- Do I have any applications currently in process?
- Have I previously applied to IRCC?
- Have I ever received an immigration refusal?
- If my consultation relates to a refusal, Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL), or another immigration concern, have I submitted all relevant supporting documents for review?
- What education and work experience do I have?
- Do I have language test results?
- Are family members part of my immigration plans?
- Are there important deadlines or expiry dates?
- Are there complications or concerns my consultant should know about?
- What are the three to five questions I most want answered?
- What is my longer-term goal—not just my next application?
Immigration Is More Than the Next Application
A strong immigration strategy considers both your immediate circumstances and where you ultimately want to be.
As immigration programs, selection priorities and opportunities change, understanding how today’s decisions may affect tomorrow’s options becomes increasingly important.
A consultation can help you identify the issues that matter, understand the options available to you and determine an appropriate way forward.
Ready to discuss your circumstances?
Canadian immigration policies and program requirements can change. This resource provides general information and is not a determination of your eligibility or a substitute for advice based on your individual circumstances. Current requirements should be verified against official Government of Canada information.
